Tossing Ashes

happy St. Pats....

2012-03-17T08:19:00.000-04:00

wishing you a field of four-leaf clovers under a clear blue sky...

in over my heads....

2012-03-15T20:22:00.000-04:00

Dissecting, hollowing, reattaching... all at a snail's pace. Poor double-headed dude, all in pieces.

But still laughing.
There's a lesson here somewhere.

Second spring for our little tulip magnolia tree. She's reaching my nose now and blooming so sweet.

trumping the albatross....

2012-03-12T19:45:00.000-04:00

meaning I'm determined to unravel the umbilical cord connecting me to all things internet. I can't completely unplug, however I would like to feel more in control of what is beginning to smack of an unhealthy addiction. Jeez, having an iPad doesn't help either... much as I love the thing. Just feeling a little bored and a lot distracted by it, I confess. It took me 4 solid months of nonstop virtual binging to get here. And well, I knew I would eventually.

So today I strolled out to the gardens sans my iPad, determined to have a mindful experience of nature minus the need to constantly document and share it with the virtual universe. I sat on a low branch of magnolia in a blooming grove of trees and blinked into the warm sun, inhaled fragrant air, and listened to the spring-industrious birds. I was fully engaged in the moment shared only between me and that tree.

I want more moments like that in all areas of my life. It was a good start on the road less downloaded.

Since I do feel rather blog-naked without an illustration, here's the blooming grove from last week...

ebb'n and a'flow'n...

2012-03-08T17:23:00.001-05:00

We experienced so many variations of surf and sky last weekend at the beach. Fog, rain, wind, sun. What beautiful drama it was. Such a moody girl the ocean, and a challenge to paint her. I usually leap in with the watercolors right away and end up making a muddy, frustrating mess that I try to correct on the back end with white paint. I am rarely happy with that result. Drawing first, for me anyway, is key to protecting that pristine white of the paper. This time I tried using some fabric/raised acrylic paint tubes to block in the shapes first. It was great for keeping the line simple, and I had a better time painting with some forethought into where I wanted the painting to go. Simple. and Saturated. Moody.

back to the grackle..

2012-03-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

headed to the Topsail beach house today with art girlfriends Shannon, Mona, Tracey and Wes, and Bonnie for the weekend! It's predicted to be 80 degrees today, and there's seafood to eat, beer to drink, and paintings to create! See you on the flip side! xo

meeting demands...

2012-02-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

First he cried, "don't cover me up!" Then later he insisted, "let me hold something!" This piece has been making demands from the beginning. He wants arms, then he doesn't... two hands, then one... face forward, then twisted. I am just the maker after all. I have limited powers.

Thankfully, I constructed him solid, so I have been able to more or less easily comply.

Next up - days and days of hollowing.

ears and horns will get added later..

jumpin' on in..

2012-02-19T17:25:00.002-05:00

then figuring out how to swim later.

That is, fortunately and unfortunately, how I roll. Sometimes I just gotta GET STARTED, ready or not. Current, aspiring-to-be-a-wall-sculpture is no exception. I was gonna build it horizontally (makes sense), but got impatient waiting for (better half) to help me with some construction that needed to be done first. So, after a while, I'm like, eh, I'll worry about that later, let's start with it standing upright....

Well, with clay, anything is really possible and there's no wrong way of doing things, only better, more effective, less painful ways. Let's just say, I see now why the masters of hanging sculpture work on the floor (below) or off the wall itself. There's an important relationship there, visually and physically that has to be considered throughout the entire process. I realized this last week when imagining my two headed's hanging on the wall, looking like they'd been sawed off at the waist... too creepy even for me.

Arthur Gonzalez working on a wall sculpture on the floor.

So now that the thing is half made and rather late in the game, I go figuring out solutions to this dilemma of the wall - the learning how to swim when already in the water part. I turn to my favorite artist hero, Arthur Gonzalez' work for some ideas. Tell me he's not amazing! OK, now I get it. The piece needs to EMERGE from the wall like out of water. I do think I would have been more consciously aware of that had I started off with a flat surface... well, next time.

Arthur Gonzalez from the Messengers and Travelers Series

today I worship the sun...

2012-02-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

..and listen to the houseplants, who need my attention.

However, yesterday was plein air painting day part 4 with Shannon. We drove out to Jordan Lake seeking access, which wasn't as obvious or easy as planned, seein' as how the park entrances are closed til March even to painters of the landscape. But, when there's a will, there's a way, and so we did finally find a place to park and walk in. We had less painting time than usual due to lingering over lattes on the front end of the day, and feeding goats and browsing bookstores on the back end. Perfectly enjoyable though even if I wasn't really rocking the watercolors. I did wade into the lake with my wellies on and discovered they weren't water tight after all.. and we did notice a tick or two seeking a warm host (I remind you that it is still February...).

If you can, imagine this video with Yes' song Mood for a Day in the background. My original, better choice of music, but YouTube said um, NO.

26 seconds of spring...

2012-02-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

crank up the volume.

all hearts day..

2012-02-14T19:09:00.000-05:00

a warm, heart-full song from Te Vaka from me to you. One Love!

close...

2012-02-12T18:37:00.000-05:00

I made a mosaic for our kitchen backsplash a few years ago and when we went to install it we did not have the right screws or something, I forget. So we left it kind of half ass installed and time went by.. Today(!) we finally properly adhered it to the wall, spackled it, and glued in the missing tiles. Seriously. It was major. I'll finish grouting next weekend, and consider the project at long last, FINI.

I love carving teeth. I had fun today blocking in the facial features on this silly two-headed guy. He makes me want to sing the doublemint gum song.

"I caught the darkness....

2012-02-11T19:13:00.000-05:00

....drinking from your cup. I said is it contagious?, you said just drink it up."- L. Cohen

Yeah, the new Leonard Cohen record... the man is brilliant. Run, don't walk to iTunes and download it. You won't be sorry. I heard it 5 times through today while working on my new crazy sculpture. He really does have 2 heads (the sculpture, not Leonard).

Working solid this time... took some getting used to, but I am happy now. So different from coil/slab building. I like being able to manipulate large areas of the piece and am enjoying the physical resistance of it. I started out yesterday with the figure facing forward, which is how it would ultimately hang on the wall.. but I realized that I wanted the piece to emerge from the wall in a more interactive way. So I went out there and twisted it, something that would have been impossible had It been hollow. I may be a convert.

pulling rabbits out of hats...

2012-02-09T17:42:00.004-05:00

er well, something like that. Tomorrow is experimental day in the studio where I will begin a series of sculptural wall pieces inspired by the divination cards I've been creating lately (see the newest installment below). I did my research and the consensus is fairly unanimous in favor of the french cleat hanging system which is basically a piece of wood cut in half at an angle - one half of it attached to the piece, the other half to the wall.

I am excited to get back to work and to creatively interact with a material other than my iPad, even as magic as it sometimes seems.

The Magician

but not today....

2012-02-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

feeling a certain, familiar, gravitational pull towards the studio these days even though I haven't really heeded it. I see an opening come Friday.... but not today.

off to work... click here if you want to see it in 360. ciao! xo

plein air part 3...

2012-02-03T17:49:00.000-05:00

Shannon and I were at it again today, this time bushwhacking through the woods of northern Orange county with big loads of snacks and painting supplies. We lucked out with gorgeous weather and it was fabulous to sit on the ground in the sun and make painterly sense of the landscape. I tried Shannon's method of painting as an exercise in discovering the stackable order of color and line by making multiple quicker sketches (instead of that one single masterpiece I always hope for). I began with a muddy war of too much information, but by the third try I was able to capture something that really spoke to me of the weed field, the slant of light, and the backdrop of darker trees.

getting there...

Later we moved close to the river for a cheese and cracker break, and more painting, this time with the sweet accompaniment of the bubbling, gurgling Eno.

Jordan Lake is our next destination... stay tuned..

bees in trees...

2012-02-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

and a heron, if you please. I continue my chronicle of spring in one of the places I know best and the job perk I appreciate most, Duke Gardens. I've seen the seasons come and go here for 15 years now (!!), in all weather, and all during the day. I stroll through it on my way into work, meander around it on my lunch hour, and then hoof back out at the end of the work day. Feels a good bit like my own back yard.

yes..

2012-01-31T22:46:00.000-05:00

to the blooming and the warmth and the return of the sun. emphatically, definitely. yes.

winter walkabout...

2012-01-28T22:39:00.000-05:00

Spent a couple hours in the magical wood near the historical Occoneechee speedway trail, otherwise known as the HOST, yesterday, creeping around through the eye-high weeds on timid deer paths shooting video and photos. It's been a good while since I have had a solo adventure in the woods to explore and be still and take my sweet time. It was 70 degrees with a breeze and everything had a pulse.

Recently, Shannon and I have taken to painting in the landscape and so we're always on the lookout for potential sites. So, my intention was to document a little flavor of the place for Shannon and throw it in the hat as an option. In the meantime I have fallen in love with being there. This place is like a poem waiting to be read.

unseasona-blissful....

2012-01-26T20:34:00.000-05:00

Breezy and blooming here today. Welcome to springtime in January.

Silly as it is, I used to sing to the daffodils as a kid, which is why they figure prominently in my 'inner child' archetype/tarot card. Yes, if you must know, that is me in the tu-tu.

The breeze smelled like cherry blossoms today in the gardens. I try not to worry about this weird weather and just enjoy this strange foray into an early spring.

occupy your studio!

2012-01-25T17:50:00.000-05:00

I realized this morning while walking to my day job that I actually occupy several studios... the spacious, light-infused one in my head where ideas emerge, details get sorted out, and possible and impossible art gets made; the narrow rectangular studio space of my electronic sketchbook (ie. iPad) where I draw, and play with images, and fan creative flickers into flames. There's the actual real studio of course, also light-filled, where I go to transform all that electronic and etherealness into something tangible. Some days I feel like an ancestral fire-starter carefully toting my creative embers from place to place.

pajama noon...

2012-01-21T13:56:00.001-05:00

well, to be honest, it's after noon and yes, still in flannels. It's wet and dreary outside and this scenario looked so much more inviting than anything I had on my to-do list for the day.

This is more chillin' than I have done in recent memory, and it feels so good. Because I work during the week, I feel almost guilty if I don't spend every weekend moment in the studio. But, these lazy days feel important too. A much needed time out.

Canines know what to do on a day like this - stay inside where it's warm and dry. And rest.

divination station....

2012-01-18T18:37:00.001-05:00

I recently stumbled onto this concept of Soul Collage via a friend's blog and was inspired to try creating collages where intuitively selected images decide the context, rather than the context determining the imagery (which is how I usually go about it). This is challenging for me, being the creative control freak that I am. But I am loving it, and the process surprises me. They are evolving into a set of tarot/archetype cards, loosely fitting into most of the major arcana.

The Sun

I am using the Painterly app on my iPad to create these collages with a mix of my own photos and found imagery. It has really taken working with images to a whole new, very exciting level.

Wealth

Hang Man

I have always wanted to create my own cards so I could speak to myself in a language I'm already fluent in.

happy cupsters...

2012-01-15T16:22:00.001-05:00

Anti-frantic cup sale went well, as evidenced by these happy cupsters.

I am lucky to live in a town that is so enthusiastic about and supportive of local arts.

you inspire me, Hillsborough!

clouds move. sunlight shifts..

2012-01-13T18:56:00.001-05:00

Today was another plein air painting adventure with Shannon, out along the backroads of orange county. Just us and clouds and cows and a chill wind which was thankfully balanced out by a decently warm sun. Shannon is a prolific painter, you know. She had her sketchpads of various sizes spread out around her like a fan club, just painting a blue streak.

I, on the other hand piddle away with the hopes of accomplishing one or two things in an afternoon. It's all in how you approach it, I guess. Here's one where she nailed a treescape. In like 2 seconds.

Here's half of my offerings for the afternoon. Clearly I was in love with that cloud.

After a couple hours basking in the side of the road sunshine in one spot, we cruised around til we found this.

I got nothin' to show for our time here. However, I did have fun making a fine mess of a painting that I later wiped clean with a paper towel. It's good for me to simply enjoy the act of painting without always feeling like I need something tangible to show for it.

Shannon cracked me up sketching around in charcoal with her cheetah mittens on...

the drama and the delicious....

2012-01-06T16:52:00.002-05:00

Tracey, Wes and I took in the Rembrandt exhibit at NCMA today. I went mostly for the company as the dark Dutch's are not really my cup of tea. However and of course, I do acknowledge the talent and skill involved in the work. It was challenging to get close to the paintings because the dude is still selling out the house, months into the exhibit. Seriously. Like the Rolling Stones.

For me, this was the painting worth the entry fee.

Nice brushstroke variety here in a powerful, dramatic portrait. OK, yeah. He's a master.
Honestly, I was more captivated by Durham's own, Beverly McIver's paintings which were also on display. What a delicious and colorful surface she creates.

what's done is in fact, done!

2011-12-31T17:31:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the stars of a cup batch I started back in September!! I have a few set aside for an additional commercial decal firing, but these seemed good enough as is. I hardly know when to quit when it comes to surfaces. All of these except for the little camel cup (that could) have been mid range glazed, and laser decaled and glazed again at cone 04. My original intention was to overglaze and luster them as well... call me crazy. I do love a complicated and interesting surface.

Here's a harken back to his pre-glazed self.

I used a baby alligator stamp I made years ago for the decal. He has some crunchy frothy surface to either side. I love that stuff.

Here, I used some of Keith Phillip's crackle slip (thank you) that I love so much and some dryer surface glaze happening on the foot. This felt like a dude cup to me so I nixed the floral motif for more masculine imagery.

Front and back of donkey girl that I spent an afternoon glazing. She has very pink innards.

One of my faves, just ignore the kiln furniture propping her up! ugh.

Bird deity! I wanted to go all complicated here, but I think just his outline is enough.

Camel espresso cup... must have been really channeling camels this time! Well, Lawrence of Arabia is in fact my all time favorite movie. I guess that explains it.

We'll be ringing in the New Year in t-shirts it looks like (not complaining)! I'm wishing you all an abundant and creative year ahead. xo

at our house..

2011-12-25T19:42:00.003-05:00

this particular Christmas eve anyway, we began with a little homemade Chinese food...

prepared with the bleary eyed attentions of someone who has had one too many... however, no loss of limb or misreading of the recipe occurred in the making of said dinner. We followed that up with an evening of belly laughs, thanks to Kung Fu Hustle.

For the past decade or so since I met my husband, we have been celebrating Christmas eve with our neighbors, who host a Quaker oriented gathering of merry-making friends with carols, candles, food, gift giving, and the holiday trifle, of course. This year however, our neighbors escaped to the beach for the holiday, and Bob and I decided to create our own night-before-Christmas tradition, a plan B as it were...and we enjoyed doing something a little out of the ordinary this time.

So, I'm wishing you all a happy holiday, however you celebrate it! xo

tea and markers....

2011-12-19T08:43:00.000-05:00

racing towards the end of the year finish line for cups and sketchbook project. Cups cooling in the kiln, markers commanding the workspace!

giving good cloud...

2011-12-16T08:48:00.000-05:00

sunsets, cold fronts, wind - the skies around here have been offering up the most amazing cloudscapes of the show-stopping, screeching-to-a-halt-on-the-road-home kind.

madams and their muses...

2011-12-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

I've been experimenting with the Painterly iPad app at the expense of my artist friends, playing around with their muses... as I know them.

Meet Shannon. She has serious animal muses. Painter extraordinaire. Clay magician.

Does this gal need an explanation?

Meet Susan. Creator of sacred wood-fired sculptures and pottery. Beading goddess.

Me and the moon.

th-th-th-that's all, folks!!

2011-12-10T09:12:00.000-05:00

Finishing up the last batch of cups for 2011, and contemplating limiting my cup-making ventures for the year ahead. Fun as they are, they do eat up a significant amount of studio time. In case you missed it, tune in here to see the labor intensive glazing process I insist on. I'm still at it! I intend to get the sketchbook project done too by the end of the month, and start with a clean slate in January.

A friend suggested yesterday that I do some thinking and journaling about what I'd like to accomplish in the studio next year and make some commitments to myself. Without deadlines I tend to float around from thing to thing (painting, cups, movies, art apps (see above)...and the list goes on) and therefore never really feel like I get anything done. Some focusing of my creative energies is in order. Stay tuned....

multi-tasking in the studio...

2011-12-09T15:36:00.001-05:00

glazing and dancing. at the same time.

holiday-ville...

2011-12-07T18:10:00.001-05:00

Traveling from Hillsborough to Durham, up I70 aways in a little dirt road culdesac, a colony of plastic electric holiday themed objects gets erected right about this time of year. It's a delight to see at night even for grown up kids like me. However, in the light of day, just the right light, they kind of creep me out a little.

a dangerous toy...

2011-12-04T20:47:00.001-05:00

that iPad!, which has weaseled it's way into the studio now too; forever distracting me with new apps, and itunes, and iMovie, and FB, and so on....

Notice last month's cups still lurking in the background, waiting their turn.... I suppose I could also say it's dangerous not having a deadline..

crazy glazing....

2011-11-27T08:04:00.000-05:00

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30 minutes (dramatically abbreviated for your viewing pleasure), 8 glazes, 1 cup.... background soundtrack by Chloe Sainte Marie. OK, so yeah, this is crazy. And there's decals and overglazes yet to go. Playing with my new birthday toy (iPad) almost to the exclusion of everything else. First try with a me-making-stuff movie. I realize now I make funny faces whilst glazing. I'm not particular to any one type glaze, although Georgie's is my go-to. I use them all!
Off to see Tracey's (empty booth) today at the CDCG show in Raleigh, perhaps with some flea market perusing and Indian food buffet sprinkled in there for spice.
Enjoy your Sunday!

anybody want anything else?

2011-11-25T10:00:00.001-05:00

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halfway to 100....

2011-11-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

I crossed over into the next half century the other day, and I've been celebrating all month. If the next decade proves as delightful, I'll be in really good shape. On my birthday, my friend Shannon and I went cruising the back roads of Orange county seeking inspiring landscapes to paint. Plein air panting is something I really haven't done since college, and man was it fun. We lucked out weather-wise, and found some beautiful vistas, some with animals.

Cows are so funny. Ornery. Shy.

Got a little looser with the watercolors at the next stop. I quit fighting them so much and just let them be. It was kind of a revelation.

sometimes I think too much...

2011-11-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

Which can get in the way of progress. I've been tumbling around my ideas and methods for the Sketchbook Project for so long, I almost lost interest. It's one thing to evolve an idea, and another to think it to death. So, I've had the book a while, covered and rebound it, gathered up my reference material, did some research, and finally crashed though the glass ceiling of the first blank pages and made a mess in there. I hauled all my stuff to the TV room, spread it out on the coffee table, and went about 'fixing' it which I am somehow more comfortable doing.

I realized it was the vellum 'veils' I binded into the book that was tripping me up. I just couldn't figure out how to make it work with what I was doing, so unless I get a eureka moment as I go along I'll just rebind it without the vellum. My theme is 'I remember you', and so it's all about extinctions. Tribes, languages, animals, various incarnations of myself, plants.... I'm using watercolors, markers, pens. On the left is a jaguarundi and on the right is the last living member of the Bo tribe.

concluding...

2011-11-15T08:12:00.000-05:00

Here's some pics from mosaic weekend finale. With these gals and a spot of whiskey, even grouting was fun.

My two-toned flower pot silliness. I found those stones at the beach a couple weekends ago. They are my favorite flotsam to collect.

Downright giddy on glue-down day once the Kahlua came out.

deez ol' bones....

2011-11-14T08:36:00.000-05:00

can still boogie! Hot night of dancing to Tinariwen, which made me feel young, and reckless (a Sunday night!), and alive. Enjoy this. xo

the big glue-down...

2011-11-13T09:10:00.000-05:00

In an effort to create precious space in my studio, and narrow my creative focus in an attainable direction, I decided to skinny up my stores of mosaic supplies by offering them up to crafty friends in the guise of a party! Here's a portion of my loot up for grabs.

I have the same over-buying tendencies with glass as I do with beads. Can't seem to resist colorful, shiny things. Like a crow in that way. Here' some of the gals in deep creative concentration.

Tracey was there too, see what she has to say over on her blog. Today is grouting day!

eureka moment...

2011-11-10T20:54:00.000-05:00

While conceptualizing a cup commission for a friend, one thought leading to another kind of thing, I remembered some stamps I carved years ago for a show about my adventures in India (um, 2002 it was). They were images of devotees mostly and I printed them out on red and white striped paper that circled the room behind my paintings, like this.

The eureka moment came when it occurred to me that what the cup needed was some devotees -check!, and I could stamp them out on paper, scan them, and print them on decal paper! As opposed to stamping them on wet clay all awkward and inconsistent like. Seems silly it hasn't dawned on me before. I feel good about using them again, and all the other stamps I carved when I was obsessed with making them.

sketchbook intermission

2011-11-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

Finally able to get around to completing my installment in the sketchbook I'm exchanging with Shannon while we were at the beach last weekend. Played around with some watercolors and tried to enjoy myself but for me they are hard to control and I always want more from them than I can (apparently) accomplish. I make up for my lack of skills by adding layers and layers of markers and pens til I reach the desired end. I challenged myself here with working from memory instead of microscopic scrutiny of the real thing, which is my fall back position.

life's been a beach!

2011-11-06T17:39:00.000-05:00

Nothing is finer in Caroliner than a November trip to the beach. The weather is cool but not cold and the beach is empty save for a few dog walkers and shell seekers. For years we had the good fortune of a very generous friend with a house on Wrightsville beach who would gift us the place for a weekend every November. We filled the house with our friends and dogs and spent a few communal days around food and music and walks on the beach. A couple years ago that house was sold and there was a collective sorrowful wail in response. This year we found a replacement house on Topsail Island for our beach flock to regroup. Oh, and man, was it great.

High tide brought the surf almost to the dock, so the view from the living room and all of our bedrooms was looking straight out over the water.

We made friends with a flock of grackles and found some unusuals on the beach.

We had a warm day, a rainy day, and a cold and windy day.

It was perfect.

all hallows..

2011-10-30T19:10:00.000-04:00

Reliving my childhood a little this weekend, making a papier mache mask. Got out the hot glue gun, even. Here I am, an old crow-n (crone).

Happy Halloween y'all. Be safe.

oh, lucky me...

2011-10-24T18:15:00.002-04:00

I recently won a set of Rae Dunn's shot cups in the guess-my-drink contest over there on her lovely blog. They arrived today, and the package itself was beautiful and fun to open, all tags and ribbons and cloth sacks. An adventure!

Right away we christened them with a shot of ice cold-to a syrupy consistency, tequila. Straight up.

Thanks Rae! xo

blame it on decals...

2011-10-23T20:13:00.000-04:00

If it wasn't for my love of/obsession with decals, I'd have never made a single cup. I did a decal workshop with Charlie Cummings years ago, and came home ready to decal everything in sight. We screen printed our own overglaze decals that weekend, and tested them not only on glazed objects we brought with us, but also on commercial tiles. Which gave me the idea to try firing them onto commercial cups I picked up at the thrift store. Of course it worked, and I made a bunch of them in the spirit of upcycling. Here's the one I made for myself mixing my own decals with commercial ones.

And boy, was I addicted. However, as with all things creative, I got bored decaling the second hand wares and decided I wanted to make my own cups. I really thought it would be easy. I youtubed how to pull a handle and went about pinching out the form. Very crude. More crude than I normally like to cultivate. You know, heavy, awkward things. A couple batches of trial and error and then I hit a little stride with cup creatures like this, another one I made for myself. Using laser decals this time.

Pretty cool, but the process took forever... pinching the bowl, constructing and adding the foot, making the handle. There had to be a better way. Well, I'm actually still discovering for myself how to streamline the making without sacrificing any funk factor, and still make them all unique. A friend bought a cup from me last year, and when I visited her house recently I noticed it on a display shelf as opposed to the dish drain. She commented that she didn't drink out of it anymore, but rather saw it as a little sculpture. That's ok, but I wondered if it was really because it's functionality just wasn't there. Anyhow, I do really try to pay attention now to weight, and volume, and handles. I want my cups to be adored AND used. Here's the batch I worked on today. I'm pleased with them, like maybe I am getting somewhere.

and the winner is.....

2011-10-20T07:45:00.000-04:00

oh wow, what a great way to start the day!

life trumps art....

2011-10-19T18:58:00.000-04:00

... sometimes. However, long stints away from the studio tend to make me feel disengaged from my artmaking self. Logical enough. Now it's time to get back into 'art mind' and reignite the energy around some lingering projects.

1. Sketchbook project

2. Next sculpture, plasticine mock up and sketchbook drawing shown
3. Cup commissions and holiday batch

There's work to do!
But first, a grilled cheeses and tomato soup to round out a gorgeous damp fall day like this.

Boston bound..

2011-10-13T12:11:00.000-04:00

Things are looking mighty good out here in the neighborwood, fall-wise. A good season for dreaming and contemplation, oh and reading, which I am doing a lot of. The studio in my head and the one beyond the front door have not been abandoned, just setting the stage for the next round. Researching, playing around in my sketchbooks, taking pictures.

Fall is ever so gently and beautifully brushing the tops of the trees here at home. We're off to Boston for the weekend where the colors should be peaking. Back next week.

takes two..

2011-10-09T16:18:00.000-04:00

... to lug an ancestor across the street.

Takes one to attach the head.

Takes three to make a milkshake-slurpin', antique-mall-visitin', art-yackin', fun-filled day out of an art drop off. Thanks Tracey and Wes!

roadtrippin' with the deities..

2011-10-07T12:42:00.000-04:00

Hauling these fellas to Winston-Salem tomorrow for the Cultural Crossroads show. Because I fear the monster called Shipping. I had a regretful first time shipping work a couple years ago and have yet to recover from it. Narrows my exhibition opportunities somewhat, but for now I'm ok with that.

Making an artists-day-out out of the journey with Tracey and her daughter Wes. I see pizza, I see gallery hopping, I see a good time.

song du jour...

2011-10-04T10:12:00.000-04:00

molds madness in cup form..

2011-10-02T12:56:00.000-04:00

Got a few cup commissions recently, so I thought I would go ahead and whip out another batch in time for the holidays. I've played around using plaster molds on my wares before, so I thought I would try that again with some new molds I scored recently at Scrap Exchange. I have manger animals, angels, teeny baby doll heads, and my personal favorites, the elf-alien gals. They have pretty faces.

So, it's cut and paste time. Mix-matching heads and body parts. Looking forward to glazing them already.

global jam..

2011-10-01T12:29:00.000-04:00

get your dancin' shoes on.

pinch-potting gleek..

2011-09-27T22:12:00.000-04:00

Cranking out some cup forms in front of the tube on a Tues night. Glass of wine and canine company not pictured. Life is good.

hemmin' and hawwin'...

2011-09-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

for weeks now, micromanaging how I'll go about this year's Sketchbook Project ie, stitching, papers, mediums, content, etc... I'm sure I have alluded to this weakness of mine before. I have a tendency to over-think and over-plan til I can't take it anymore, and then go running and screaming for the studio, ready or not. Today I finally reached that self-imposed edge of excruciating non-action and managed to get the ball rolling. I concocted the cover design, pasted it up, cut the inside papers and stitched the dang thing. Hurray! I'm going with the flow from here on out... seriously.

on repeat..

2011-09-22T23:46:00.000-04:00

Yothu Yindi. Love.

disaster dreaming..

2011-09-22T09:03:00.001-04:00

Following a string of disaster dreams this week, this seemed the most appropriate drawing to share. I don't fall asleep pondering the end of things, however I do pay attention to what's happening in the world and well, disasters natural and man made seem to abound these days. In my dreams, planes fall from a terrifying sky and flood waters fill up the basin of a hilly street. Nuclear bombs used to be regular characters in my dreams, thankfully not so much now.

Deco color markers, ink pen.

harvesting the bones

2011-09-19T17:07:00.000-04:00

Critters large and small that were hoisted into the yard in the mouths of dogs end up in the back of our old truck, otherwise known as the bone bed. These specimens have had the summer to be bleached by the sun and picked clean by critters.

The moss and matter that covers them makes them even more beautiful in my eyes. And that raku crackle that some of them have, looking like old wood.

The dogs eyed me curiously as I harvested in the bones bed of the truck, then followed me around the yard sniffing the atmospheric aroma of what must have looked and smelled to them like the most delicious bone salad ever made.

found.

2011-09-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

I don't believe I'd ever seen this picture of my brother and me til today.

Laughing hysterically. Joy all around. Officially my favorite pic of us ever.

ushering summer out

2011-09-16T08:19:00.000-04:00

...with a tour through Duke Gardens yesterday followed by art talks over beers with friends Tracey and Barbara. Yesterday 90s, today 60s. Not complaining. Fall has been creeping in with the light over the past month, little by little. I love this time of year.

downshifting..

2011-09-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

..into 2D. For a while. It's Sketchbook Project time again.

This year my theme is I Remember You, and yesterday's 911 memorial events inspired me to get started. I intend to deconstruct and reconstruct/rebind the book with my own choice of papers, much like I did in the last sketchbook project I participated in. I hope to keep it simple, materials-wise, which is a challenge for me. Ink washes, pen, pencil. mylar. goldleaf.... see, here I go. Got warmed up decorating the outside of my 'working' sketchbook with paint markers, pulling out some photos of bygone ancestors, and creating another installment in the sketchbook exchange I am doing with my friend Shannon. She's the artist in residence in the Everglades National Park this month painting swamp flora and fauna. So, this, my friend, is for you. Keep your eye on the mailbox!

a song for the day..

2011-09-11T11:08:00.002-04:00

mark your calendars..

2011-09-09T17:58:00.000-04:00

I had a tour this morning of what my friend Susan Wells has been up to in the studio, gearing up for her opening at the Skylight Gallery on King St, in conjunction with the Last Friday art event in downtown Hillsborough. Her work is all wood kiln warm and toasty and her detailed renderings of patterns, plants and animals are exquisite. She erects celebratory altar-like constructions to honor local plants, insects, and animals like this delicious array.

Susan is also working on an impressive tile piece. 108 tiles make up a 6 x 8' construction, which sounds big, and looks bigger! Here she is describing her progress working up the crow in relief. You can read more about her journey with this incredible piece on her blog.

Here are some other lovelies off to the side of the bigger works. I simply drool over that light blue glaze and sweet decals combo.

I didn't get to peek inside this last secured sculpture. Gotta save some surprises for the opening! I leave you with Susan looking lovely next to the exterior of the Bat Triptych carved to perfection.

Mark your calendars, locals! Sept 30, Skylight Gallery on King St in Hillsborough! Into Cedar Grove - Sculpture by Susan Wells.

sketchbook intermission

2011-09-05T09:55:00.000-04:00

It's been a weekend of post-opening recovery, cleaning the studio, and wrapping my head around the next order of business. In the meantime, here's a page from my deco paint markers and ink pen sketchbook inspired by an old black and white photo. The challenge was to capture the mood and expressions without getting too sticky about minute details and proportions. It's a little off here and there, but I like it that way.

trophies, specimens, souvenirs...

2011-09-03T08:54:00.000-04:00

Came screeching to halt at the finish line with this work. Still epoxying, stringing up hanging wire, and goldleafing an hour before we loaded up.

Souvenir of a Life: stoneware, laser decals, acrylic paint

Spoils: stoneware, glazes, apoxie sculpt, wire, tissue paper

Trophy - My Psychedelic Youth: stoneware, glazes, high fire wire

Specimen: stoneware, glazes, nails

Boon: stoneware, glazes, laser decals

Threatened Species Keepsake: stoneware, glazes, gold leaf

Relic: raku'd heart, barbed wire, gold leaf

Here's what I had to say about them, statement-wise:

These works were inspired initially by some old unfinished plaques I found in a heap at Scrap Exchange. I was intrigued by the notion of how victories and accomplishments are displayed and how a moment in time can be collected and commemorated in the forms of trophies, specimens and souvenirs.

the ones that got away..

2011-09-01T10:31:00.001-04:00

A few of the sweet terracotta cups that have been demoted to pencil holders due to some very unfortunate pinholing that emerged during the overglaze firing.

slip, laser decals, overglazes, luster

slipped stencil design, overglazes, luster. this one broke my heart.

slipped stencil design, laser decals, overglazes, luster

cups...

2011-08-30T08:20:00.000-04:00

A sampling of some successes. There were a few that decided to go pinhole on me during the overglaze firing. I lost about 6 cups along the way, for various reasons. I knew there would be some casualties.

white earthenware, original laser decal, overglazes

stoneware, laser decal, overglazes

stoneware, original laser decal

stoneware, underglaze stamp design

sketchbook intermission

2011-08-28T22:07:00.000-04:00

Here's the back story on this one. Watercolor pencil and ink pen.

overglazing...

2011-08-24T21:14:00.000-04:00

til the cows come home. Did I say there was nothing funner on earth than sliding on some decals? Painting them in, coloring-book style is maybe even, hard to believe, the funnest of all.

Testing out some lusters today... I admit to being kind of afraid of it (why?), but decided this morning to just do it. I've been drumming my fingers all day waiting for the kiln to cool. Something new!

sketchbook intermission

2011-08-23T08:57:00.001-04:00

This, from a couple years ago. Pen and ink.

the fun parts

2011-08-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

The weekend started off with glazing.. and more glazing. Into the wee hours. Mid-range first, low fire second. I love it and it makes me crazy, both. If all goes well, which I never assume, I should have about 30 cups ready for Cup A Joe.

Today, at long last, I got around to my favorite thing... decals!! Nothing funner, that I know of.

During these long studio days, I notice my mind wandering off ahead of myself. Like when I'm glazing, I'm thinking about decals, and when I'm decal-ing I'm thinking about putting my trophies together. I had to keep dragging my mind back to the present so I could really enjoy brushing on glazes and imagining color combos. I also realized that as stressful as a looming deadline can be, I love being completely full with my work, occupied on all levels with it, all day long.

glamour shots

2011-08-17T08:34:00.001-04:00

My new sculptures got the celebrity treatment from photographer Seth Tice-Lewis the other day. Ready to submit to the Cultural Crossroads juried show in Winston Salem by deadline!

sketchbook intermission

2011-08-16T07:49:00.000-04:00

psychedelic pond.

a glazing landscape...

2011-08-15T08:27:00.001-04:00

from all views...

I take copious notes when I'm glazing however I find that sometimes when I'm in the glazing Zone, I just go with whatever occurs to me in the moment, glaze combination-wise. These notes are most valuable to me as a reminder of what doesn't work. I've been using Georgie's glazes for years and am pretty familiar with what they do. They have the best sculptural glazes around, and they are my go-to glazes for cups too.

cactus + heart

2011-08-12T18:45:00.000-04:00

Two days of post-firing construction, refinement, additions, subtractions... whew. Almost as much time it seems to finish as to begin. I love seeing these two sculptures finished. Finally.

The Ancestor gets his sacred heart, and I think he wears it well. Whata dude he is.

Changing Woman Buddha gets her cactus and I curled up that big ass black snake skin and stuck it in her belly. She's got some petroglyphs lurking on her backside too.

Here's lookin' atcha! Back to cups and trophies tomorrow!

sneak peek

2011-08-11T13:37:00.000-04:00

Spending quality time with my friends epoxy, sand paper and dremel tools today assembling and refining the sculptures in preparation for the photo shoot on Saturday and submission deadline on Thurs. Here's a tiny taste of what I've been up to.

A better, finished shot of her coming soon!

sketchbook intermission

2011-08-08T19:59:00.000-04:00

I remember this day so well. Lunch hour in Duke Gardens, perfect blue sky 80 degree day, everything just getting good and blooming.

fingers and toes

2011-08-07T17:39:00.000-04:00

The final pair of trophies is at last complete! I learned a lot about making fingers and toes... another of those common everyday things like dogs, birds, etc that should come easy but can be tricky to sculpt. Heck, I even own a pair! I'm no expert, but I do feel a little more comfortable after having made these. They're sculpted solid and hollowed out (with the exception of the flower).

I marched a thousand million times up the path from the studio and into the house today getting those decals right. Right font, right size.. and, oh yeah, additions and replacements for those annoying 'user error' mistakes (ie decal in wrong spot, decal flipped over backwards, etc).
Palm reading is rather complex as it turns out and I used more than one illustration attempting to get it right. So, I spent a lot more time at the computer than I liked today. However, what's done is in fact done. Whew.

'I really gotta get out more!'

2011-08-05T21:16:00.001-04:00

That was the theme of today's artists' day out. Tracey rediscovering her own little Pittsboro town, Barbara learning all about Steampunk, and all of us tasting mead (fermented honey 'wine') for the first time. Yum! We tasted them all, and then bought some for later. I like the idea of getting a buzz off honey wine. Pun intended.

Later, and like a couple tea bags, we steeped in Tracey's studio atmosphere and had a tour of her new works and processes. Talkin' shop is always so inspiring and energizing for me. They are both such a wealth of information and experience. And like, really fun to be around.

The unanimous conclusion to our outing was that getting our heads out of the clay bag every now and then is good for the soul, desirable, necessary and by George, we should do more of it!

The honeybee cubicles at the mead factory.

chaos is me

2011-08-03T19:53:00.000-04:00

Wet work, bisq, glazing, decal-ing, slipping, all cooking simultaneously in this crazy soup pot of my studio. Staying focused is a challenge for me on a good day, so this is really a hindering type situation. I am usually pretty organized about my processes which makes working in a small space doable. Like I go from making work to glazing to decal-ing to overglazing with studio cleanups and overhauls in between. That way my creative head stays on straight and I can find my tools and whatnot when I need them. However, currently it's all Welcome to My Nightmare in there.

I'm hoping to get two sculptures finished and photographed in time to submit to this show in Winston-Salem while still cranking on the Cup A Joe cups and wall pieces for September. Did I mention I have a day job?

Glazing around cactus thorns is fun.

sketchbook intermission

2011-08-02T08:10:00.000-04:00

hollowing out

2011-07-30T08:46:00.000-04:00

Finished up the snail and hornet yesterday. I am really enjoying the working solid/hollowing out process! Not sure how it would go for large pieces, but for these it's perfect. I'll make the hornet's legs and antennae out of apoxie after it's fired.

black snake

2011-07-29T18:26:00.001-04:00

In the chicken coop. I got proof.

workin the process

2011-07-28T09:09:00.000-04:00

Keeping a steady flow of work happening around the time constraints of my day job has been going like this: During the week I focus on cup making. Pinching them out at night in front of the TV, trimming and attaching handles the next day, and so forth til the weekend when I turn my attention to sculpture. My studio feels a little chaotic right now with just about every surface covered with work. I'll start cranking up the kiln this weekend and look forward to a month of glazing and decal-ing and painting leading up to Sept !!!

sketchbook intermission

2011-07-26T09:06:00.000-04:00

Shannon Bueker and I have a sketchbook exchange going on. She draws in it, mails it to me, I draw in it, mail it back. It's been fun! I mostly doodle around with ideas and take notes in my 'working' sketchbook, but this exchange has given me the opportunity to really go all the way with a drawing.

I am also participating in the Sketchbook Project this year again, through the ArtHouse Co-op in Brooklyn NY. If you don't know about it already, check it out here.

Close encounters of the insect kind

2011-07-24T20:21:00.001-04:00

Bob and I rode out to the Eno River this morning for a long overdue hike and dip in that low-murky-rocky-warmish yet refreshing water. I can joyfully embrace this redhot summer while floating on my back in the river, eyes on the sky, nose full of tree and mud smells. Oh yeah. So, as I was swimming, little bright blue dragonflies were buzzing around me and knowing how they like to light on sticks and car antennae, I tried sending a finger up and well, they landed! A few tried perching on my nose too. Not that I'm so special as it turns out. I was able to successfully transfer said dragonfly onto the finger of a bobbing three year old, much to his delight.

completions and experimentations

2011-07-23T18:50:00.001-04:00

Rabbit and bluebird (of happiness) to the finish line... for wet work anyway.

.. and messing around with newsprint stencils on earthenware cups.

Good studio day, all 'round. Happy rest of the weekend, friends. Stay cool!

candid camera

2011-07-19T08:39:00.000-04:00

Friend and local photographer Judy Woodall came out to my studio on Sunday to get some pics of me in my element, doing what I do. It was fun! Here's a few of my favorites.

working solid

2011-07-17T17:07:00.000-04:00

Seems every time I start working solid, I go put my thumb in it somewhere and commence pinching it out. Habit I guess. Then it goes all wobbly and I find myself down some road I don't want to go on. Today was no different really. Start solid, stick in thumb. go pinching, get frustrated. I did however, ball up that messy wad and start over. This time, I started solid, ended solid, and well, I'm pleased about it. For smaller work, it just really makes sense to work this way. Hollowing out it is a chore I don't mind doing.
Also, how is it that something so familiar like the family dog, a bird (mind you) or a rabbit can be so challenging to sculpt... or draw, for that matter? Birds kill me every time. Been messing around with this one longer than seems necessary. Not trying to go all anatomical, but just bird LIKE.

Here's the rabbit - you'll have to imagine the ears.

and this is for you, friends. It's what's growin' wild around here. Have a happy start of the work week... !

women discussion about every thing

2011-07-15T16:45:00.000-04:00

Why, yes we do.

love and decals

2011-07-13T19:52:00.001-04:00

Several lifetimes ago I worked as a typesetter, for a while in the printing industry and also for a newspaper quarterly. I keyed out the text on a typewriter with exchangeable font balls, ran the sheet through a glue machine to dose it on the reverse with an even load of sticky, then cut and pasted up the ad or whatever I was working on. I actually really loved this job. Working with decals feels like that to me. Cutting and pasting. Collaging. I love it.

I've made decals out of some of my original sketches this time, as opposed to trolling for clipart or manipulating found online images in photoshop.

Here's my scrap pile where I go digging every time I need a decal. I've printed so many of them I forget what's in there!

My introduction to decals was taking a workshop with Charlie Cummings. We created our own images in photoshop, printed them on transparencies, made screens, and then screen printed our images with overglazes. Quite a process! Great fun. However, not realistic for my studio situation.

Laser decals are my hero though. I learned about how to use them and where to get them from Justin Rothshank's decal tutorial on his website. He is a master decal-ist, if you ask me.

Finally, after another stiflingly hot day, the rain comes.

Bob catching the show from the front porch. This is the love part.

head and hands

2011-07-11T19:10:00.001-04:00

He stands!, following a weekend of holding steady with various glues and East Valley Epoxy which saved the day once again. All he needs now is his heart, which is cooling off in the kiln, and some gold embellishments of some sort I'm still figuring out.
Here he is holding court amongst all the visual overload that is my studio.

For those of you just tuning in, here's how he looked just a few days ago.

our town

2011-07-10T08:27:00.003-04:00

Any way you slice it, Saturday morning comes up like this: an early farmer's market run followed by a sit-out at Cup A Joe with all the usual suspects til the heat of the day comes on.

Often, the Starlight String Band cranks up some old time music across the street.

And sometimes, if we're lucky, we'll get to visit with Hillsborough's beloved little belle, Lydia and her parents.

The day, now having fulfilled it's requisite morning ventures can morph into a studio afternoon, an evening walk around the neighborhoods, and a nightcap at Antonia's.
I wonder, do we make the town... or does the town make us?

cups n' fodder

2011-07-08T17:02:00.001-04:00

A couple times a year now I find myself making cups. I'm not terrific at it, and if I must confess, my reasons for making them is to play around with surfaces and yes, decals. The form and function thing rides in the caboose. I've more or less figured out how to pull a handle and I get it that lifting a cup of coffee should not feel like exercising. I like 'em wonky and unique to each other. Here's a view of my last batch plus some other goods, made for our first Uncommon Clay show in Durham this spring. Other artists showing work there were pals Susan Wells, Shannon Bueker, Bonnie Campbell, Barbara McKenzie and Amy Radack. I tried out some new things on this batch of wares and had fun with them. I used 4 different clays, 2 low fire, 2 midrange, added some sprig additions here and there, commercial and laser decals, and some overglazing.

the loot

sprig-y earthenware dude

decal-ed up stoneware dude

I'm still pondering what could be fun and different about this batch o' drinking vessels...
I'll be showing some small clay pieces mounted on wooden plaques at Cup A Joe in September and the new load of cups will go along for the ride. Here's some fodder for my show entitled 'Trophies, Specimens, Souvenirs'.

and the blank canvases of cups....

notes on a day

2011-07-07T18:08:00.000-04:00

big as my head

2011-07-06T17:35:00.000-04:00

slow and steady

2011-07-05T18:30:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was all about epoxy and sandpaper and readjustments to the tone of the base for my Ancestor piece. Legs and torso went together without a hitch, arms were a challenge for one as clamp impaired as myself. This is my first standing-arms-outstretched sculpture and I've learned a lot! It's all about timing. No more sawing off appendages on the drier side of leather hard for one thing. No more rushing to go tall before the clay has a chance to get used to the idea. And I'll TRY not to problem-solve piecemeal after the fact. Forethought good. Patience good.

The base wanted to be a star and I let it get all celebrity-like, then I made it a back-up singer. I painted over all that beautiful detail with a transparent red oxide color and made the surrounding color dark, more like what a bark surface would look like. Then I sanded some of it away to the lighter layers which made it look distressed. It's singin in perfect harmony now with the real star of the show, even though he's headless and armless at the moment.

the story of rain

2011-07-04T17:52:00.000-04:00